So, just how bad is bottled water? Let's look at some statistics.    This year more than 25 billion single use plastic water bottles will be sold in the United States alone and more than 80 percent of those will end up being disposed of rather than being recycled (that’s 20 billion bottles to the landfill Virginia!). Over 1.5 million barrels of oil were used to make the plastic bottles consumed in the US last year–and that doesn’t include the petroleum used to transport them.To put that in perspective, that’s enough petroleum to power 100,000 automobiles for a year! Drinking out of bottled water actually wastes water, using up to five times as much, and in a world where many people don’t have adequate drinking water, that’s just wrong. Bottled water sold across state lines is not necessarily regulated while tap water is strictly regulated so you have no idea what you are drinking when you pop open a cold one. Certain plastics have been shown to leach Biphesenol A, a hormone disruptor. While this is not a problem in all bottled water, who’s to say what scientists will find leaching from plastics down the road. While some bottles do end up getting recycled, in reality they are downcycled, being turned into other products leaving most new water bottles to require virgin plastic. There is a belief that every adult should drink 8 bottles of water a day, a myth most likely created by water retailers. There is no scientific evidence to prove this and while it is important to stay hydrated, this is akin to saying every adult should eat 8.2 pounds of food a day. Let’s tackle two of the biggest reasons people why people use plastic water bottles. “Plastic water bottles are convenient because they are easy to grab and you can find them anywhere.” Well, there is more available drinkable water coming out of the tap than there are water kiosks in most places. “It’s so cheap.” Not so! Let’s say you drink 2 bottles a day 300 days a year. At $1 a bottle, that’s $600. You can get the same amount of water out of the tap at home for about $3. Add on a water filter and that goes up to around $5. Plus, there's the amount of money you are paying in taxes for your local landfill and recycling center and the fuel you used to get it to your house. As long as you have drinkable water coming into your house, bottled water makes absolutely no sense. If you are drinking it, you are not only adding to the destruction of the planet but you are filling the coffers of corporations who have convinced you that you need to buy something you already get for practically nothing. So how ‘bout it? Ready to give up on bottled water? The above information was provided by Dave Chameides, an environmental educator and freelance filmmaker. He writes alternative fuel articles for Edmunds.com and maintains the blogs 365 Days of Trash and Achieving Sustainability. While he is presently saving all of his trash for a year to better understand his environmental impact, his main focus is sustainability through education and believes that with knowledge all things are possible.